Summary
The Post Office and Fujitsu signed an agreement in 2006 to handle errors in the Horizon IT system, which affected sub-postmasters. This contract included fixing transaction mistakes or paying up to £150 per error if problems arose. Despite this, the Post Office claimed during legal proceedings that the system had no bugs that could cause accounting mistakes, leading to wrongful convictions.
Key Facts
- The Horizon IT system had bugs that led to errors in sub-postmasters' accounts.
- A 2006 agreement required Fujitsu to fix these errors or pay the Post Office if unable to do so.
- Between 1999 and 2015, over 900 sub-postmasters were wrongly accused and some were convicted due to these errors.
- The issue is considered one of the biggest legal injustices in the UK.
- A long-running public investigation is examining the scandal.
- Documentation recently surfaced showing the Post Office was aware of these potential errors.
- Fujitsu's system could be involved in discrepancies and might alter records without sub-postmasters' knowledge.
- Sub-postmasters were believed to have been at fault due to alleged incompetence or dishonesty before this document emerged.
